There currently exist many techniques for training users for development and performance of physical activities. It is well known that an athlete will begin a training routine that includes various exercises and then follow that routine to improve his or her physical abilities.
A user typically selects a training goal or a purpose for a workout routine and then tailors the training to that purpose. For example, a user may set a goal of losing weight, so the user may select physical activities that improve muscle mass for a higher resting metabolic rate, exercises for general cardio improvement and high intensity interval workouts for maximum caloric burn. In another example, a user may begin training for a particular sport, such as to be a running back on a football team. The training may include weightlifting to increase strength agility training exercises to improve lateral movements, and strengthening knees, ankles and other joints.
Common training techniques fall into one of two categories. A first category is a one size fits all training routine, where athletes are given a general routine for a general purpose. An example may be someone undertaking a 90-day video workout routine, where the training routine is generally same for everybody.
A second example is a user-customized routine, such as hiring a personal trainer. The trainer may take an amalgamation of exercises and select different ones for the user to perform. The selection of the personalized training routine is typically based on the physical characteristics and goals of the user
There is also a growing trend for integrating electronic and computing devices into training techniques. Electronic training logs have been available and widely usable for athletes, including training logs available through private web locations. There are also further refinements of online and electronic tracking techniques and platforms based on the growth of mobile computing, smart phone technology and visual graphic gaming systems. For example, there are numerous smart phone applications available to the public that facilitate training activities. Some applications include generating suggested workout routines based on user preferences and training log data entry systems. Other applications utilize internal components of smart phone, such as GPS to track movement during a workout. Similarly, there are functionalities available through gaming systems and visual measurement devices, such as for example the Wii® Fit system or the Kinetic® system for Microsoft XBOX® gaming system.
As noted above, there are many available options for an athlete to generate a training routine and track the performance of that routine. The existing techniques are limited in ways that can have detrimental effects for the athletes. For example, in the area of youth sports, there is an alarming trend in the growth of serious sports injuries. The standard training techniques used for many years have contributed to these injuries because there is a lack of examination of these exercise routines from an injury perspective. Current training techniques fail to account for medical science information, biomechanical analysis, sport specific injury rates and baseline information for the individual athlete.
Similarly, while there is a growth in social gaming and networking, there is also a failure for combining training with the automated functionality of the social gaming and networking platforms. For example, athletes typically train as part of a team and it is reasonable for competitions to occur between teammates. None of the strength and conditioning programs incorporate social gaming and networking platforms providing for integration of training tracking information and social interaction/competition. Similarly, none of the strength and conditioning programs incorporate social networking platforms to provide for further enhancement or usage of the tracked data and competition data, including sponsorship or game-based competitions for promoting user-specific training.
As such, there exists a need for a system and method, including a computing platform that provides for the generation of user-specific training routines, that are modified as the user progresses the training program, as well integrating the training and achievements of training into an interactive social gaming and networking platform for improving athlete training and team camaraderie, as well as resulting in lower injury rates and better health and performance.